Cantillon: Nokia looking to get back in the game

Just when you thought Nokia was out of the mobile game, it seems poised to make a return. After selling its mobile phone unit to Microsoft in 2013, the Finnish firm looked like it had turned its back on the mobile market for good.

But the company has been hiring software experts, testing new products and seeking sales partners as it readies a return to mobile phones and consumer tech.

Nokia is one of those companies that has adapted over the years, making everything from paper products to car tyres before it turned its hand to electronics. Here the company found its niche. It was once the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones.

But that was before the rise of Apple and the iPhone, and the march of Android into the market. The Finnish firm was wrongfooted, failing to capitalise on its strong position in the market.

There were bright spots. Nokia’s 6310 phone was in demand long after the tech world had moved on to flashier things. And there were high hopes for the Windows Phone, although the operating system is still a distant third place behind Android and iOS. Eventually it decided enough was enough.

After ditching its Symbian operating system and adopting Microsoft’s Windows Phone software for its Lumia range of smartphones, Nokia sold up. Since then it has focused on making telecoms network equipment.

But it seems Nokia boss Rajeev Suri is intent on a comeback – although he must wait until a non-compete deal with Microsoft expires next year. The company has dipped its toe into the consumer market, with the Android N1 tablet, which went on sale in January in China.

A few days ago, it unveiled a virtual-reality camera. There has been a turnaround at its technologies division and the company has been advertising on LinkedIn for dozens of jobs in California, many in product development.

If Nokia manages to pull off a successful return to the mobile market, it will be a comeback of epic proportions.